PUBG: New State, the battle royale game from Krafton that was rolled out in India earlier this month, is set to provide some exclusive content for gamers in in the country.
For starters, the South Korean game developer and publisher, has partnered with Sony Music India to bring the song ‘Bad Boy x Bad Girl' by pop singer Badshah to the game.
Krafton said that this was the first of many collaborations involving Indian pop music that it has planned for PUBG: New State. On the cards is also a dance challenge. The gaming company also announced a web series New State Chronicles.
But how are these new initiatives expected to help Krafton as they are not quintessentially related to gaming?
We will get to that in a bit.
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What Krafton has in store
Through the partnership with Sony, Krafton will be able to bring the latest popular song “Bad Boy x Bad Girl", featuring singer Nikita Gandhi, by Indian pop star Badshah.
The song, Krafton said, will be used in content sponsored by it, including in streams, promo videos and more.
Krafton will also be shortly partnering with popular rapper Raftaar, whose number will again be used for PUBG: New State.
As far as the new web series New State Chronicles goes, it is expected to feature popular Indian celebrities and influencers.
The three-part series will feature celebrities and influencers including Awez Darbar, Kaneez Surka, Kubbra, Mortal, Mr. Faizu, Raftaar, Rannvijay Singha, Rohan, Scout, The Great Khali, and The Sound Blaze. It will premiere in December, though its exact release date is yet to be annpounced.
Krafton will also host a dance challenge in which the winners stand to get $5,000 worth of Google Play gift cards.
Krafton has also tied up with influencers and content creators such as Viraj Ghelani, Focused Indian, Bhuvan Bam, and the Comedy Factory to expand PUBG: New State.
Will Krafton's gambit work?
So how are songs, series and dances going to help a battle royale game? Industry watchers say Krafton will use the songs and dances in a way that will help it to increase its engagement with its target gaming audience (typically youth). The choice of rap is a give away. So are the dance challenges and web series.
Krafton will also bring into the equation social media. For instance, as part of the dance challenge, it is asking participants to record themselves dancing to Raftaar’s upcoming anthem and share it on Instagram using the PUBG: New State filter and these hashtags – #NewStateStyle and #PUBGNewState.
"Again, the accent is on the use of PUBG: New State," said a gaming industry analyst. "Such initiatives enhance brand's youthful cred even though it doesn't bring anything to the gaming table as such."
But Krafton is also hoping to highlight the game’s features in Raftaar song. "It will act alongside “Bad Boy x Bad Girl” as the anthem of the game in India,” Krafton said.
This should make clear the strategy of Krafton. But how effective will it be is a difficult question to answer now.
If it succeeds, you can expect Krafton to make, well, a song and dance of it.
